Video: US Senator finds a Supreme Court review of regulation “stunning,” or something

posted at 12:01 pm on March 26, 2014 by Ed Morrissey

Maybe Bruce Braley did have a point after all. Yesterday, as the Supreme Court conducted a review of regulation promulgated under the auspices of a massively intrusive law passed by Congress creating the first-ever peacetime federal command economy in American history, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) found it “stunning” that “nine people are going to make the decision” on whether religious liberty will trump the Department of Health and Human Services’ mandate to solve a non-issue. Apparently, the lawmaker has little familiarity with the legal process and the right to challenges laws and regulation. Of course, she’s never been to law school, so …

“I’ve worked hard to make sure that women have access to the right kinds of health care, and it’s their choice, not their employer’s choice,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Tuesday.

“Sitting in that court today, it was stunning to me to recognize that nine people are going to make that decision — and will decide for a long time to come — whether women have to question when they go to work every day what the shareholders of that company’s religious views could be.”

Well, that problem wouldn’t exist had Congress not given HHS the power to mandate that employers provide specific products and services to their employees in the first place. Prior to the passage of ObamaCare, most employers already provided some form of health insurance to their employees, and most of those already covered birth control, albeit with co-pays. Those employers who object to abortifacients found other health plans, but that doesn’t prevent men and women from acquiring birth control of their own volition — or finding other work based on competitive compensation packages, for that matter. This became an issue only when Democrats forced the creation and participation of a command economy in health insurance and gave bureaucrats the power to issue regulations such as the HHS contraception mandate, for no rational reason except as political demagoguery.

In 2010, 85 percent of companies with more than 200 employees were offering contraceptive coverage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Employer Health Benefits Survey. In 2002, the number of large employers covering contraception was 78 percent. (The amount employees had to contribute to contraception, such as the birth-control pill, in co-pays or other cost-sharing wasn’t measured by the survey, although the Affordable Care Act now makes the pill and other contraceptives available at no cost.)

In other words, there was no compelling state interest in the first place, especially since the CDC’s own data showed no indications that access to contraception was a problem at all for women attempting to prevent pregnancy.

Blowback

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“Sitting in that court today, it was stunning to me to recognize that nine people are going to make that decision

Well it’s stunning to me that the idiots in WA state didn’t vote you out after you were lauding the Taliban even as bodies were being recovered from the ruins of the WTC. Sit down and shut up you stupid woman. You’re clearly a worthless moron of no redeeming value to society- other than perhaps heating a hospital upon your demise.

“I’ve worked hard to make sure that women have access to the right kinds of health care/ abortion/gay marriage/minimum wage increase/EBT/…, and it’s their choice, not their employer’s choice,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Tuesday.

“Sitting in that court today, it was stunningperfectly acceptable to me to recognize that nine people are going to make that decision — and will decide for a long time to come — whether women have to question when they go to work every dayanybody has to care at all what the shareholders of that company’s religious views could be.”

Lawmakers like this woman are precisely the reason for the “balance of power” legislative, executive, and judicial branches of govt. I still fail to see what “right” is being violated by not providing birth control? There’s a tried and true way to not get pregnant, and it doesn’t cost a dime. And if you want birth control, it’s there for you.

It was because he preemptively surrendered to Murray on the budget / sequester.

In this case, the cluelessness and vapidity of Murray is truly stunning. For someone who has been in government as long as she has – and to have such a complete lack of knowledge regarding the three branches of government, it’s inconceivable that she could have been elected to 4 terms in the Senate (1992, 1998, 2004, and 2010).

Either she is the dumbest member of Congress – or she is so callous, arrogant, and devoid of any soul, that she can shamelessly lie and spin to promote the progressive fascist agenda.

Don’t worry darlin’ the state is interested in one thing.. POWER… keeping it and expanding it where ever possible. To think the Court of the state will stop that is just dream’n. Oh sure, they may rule against the other branches of the state from time to time. But, that is just out of caution that the blow back from the citizen minions will be too much for the illusion of freedom to bare. Rest assured that if the state court rules in favor of the people today…. it will be short lived…. tomorrow the state will be back at increasing it power…… just look at the history of the last hundred years.

Let’s cut the crap. Birth control is already plentiful, accessible and inexpensive. No cost at all for the user in some cases.

forest on March 26, 2014 at 12:09 PM

Forget about logic in dealing with liberals and leftists. Facts do not matter to them. They have only one desire – control.
They are control freaks. They are driven by a very deep psychopathology to control every aspect of other’s existence.
In this particular case, it doesn’t matter that birth control is plentiful, accessible and inexpensive. What matters to them is that they must control the behavior of the individuals or companies that dare to try to abide by their own beliefs.

To liberals and leftists, the very idea that the Supreme Court might even possibly rule in favor of individual liberty is repugnant to them and is viewed as a threat to their overwhelming and insatiable need to control.

How does anyone become a Senator without understanding the Constitution? How is this idiot unaware that Constitutional Rights, such as the RIGHT to practice our religious beliefs trumps any law or regulation that suppresses it, regardless of intent? Ignorance abounds…

We need to be careful here. There are an awful lot of Hot Airians who want to move to Texas. Given the number of Canadians that also end up on the Gulf Coast during the winter, well we might just cause North America to tip over.

As a previous Hot Air referenced article put it… they are trying to trump religious freedom over FOUR PILLS. Do we really think that “womens rights” come down to FOUR PILLS? Or is it about using FOUR PILLS to subject and replace religion as the primary force in people’s lives? I think we all know the answer…

I saw Murray (My Senator) muggy it up on TV at the Oso, WA mudslide over the weekend. Now she is taking up space at the Supreme Court while they try to do their job (probably snarling at them). What a waste of Jet Fuel and Exhaust. Her and Harry just need to go on vacation somewhere and never come back.

Many commenters here saying she’s so stupid she doesn’t know that the Judicial branch exists. It’s worse than that. She knows it exists, and in theory she knows they judge laws. She just doesn’t like it. When confronted with the reality of it, she recoils in horror at the limits to her own power.

Abortion means never having to say “You’re Responsible”
(Or “I got wasted and hooked up with the ugliest, smelliest dude in the world, while not using protection, and now I want to push the Reset Button”)

“I’ve worked hard to make sure that women have access to the right kinds of health care, and it’s their choice, not their employer’s choice,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Tuesday.

Yes, because Hobby Lobby is suing to prevent its female employees from ever purchasing birth control with their own money. *smh* Patty, you are a big talking-points dope!

Frightening ignorance and arrogance. Really frightening. These are dark days — more perilous than actual wartime, as the enemy is spreading an addictive contagion of ignorance and entitlement under our noses as our side sleeps.

I’m off to Hobby Lobby. I don’t need anything-but I’ll buy something anyway as a show of support.

annoyinglittletwerp on March 26, 2014 at 12:47 PM

I agree. Anytime I find myself within 20 miles of one of their stores I make it a point to stop by and see what’s new. I rarely leave empty-handed.

And regarding the the case before the “Supremes”, I predict the Chief Justice will cave to appease the LSM. I also predict we’ll see most companies dump company-provided health coverage and simply provide an additional bit of money in paychecks, telling employees they’re on their own, and good luck.

Abortion means never having to say “You’re Responsible”
(Or “I got wasted and hooked up with the ugliest, smelliest dude in the world, while not using protection, and now I want to push the Reset Button”)

Whiterock on March 26, 2014 at 1:01 PM

Exactly. I should be responsible for their irresponsible sexual behavior, which the likes of Murray are promoting. Hey, it’s all about job security, right, Patti?

Create a problem, then offer a “solution.” Because if SHE didn’t, who would?

“Sitting in that court today, it was stunning to me to recognize that nine people are going to make that decision — and will decide for a long time to come — whether women have to question when they go to work every day what the shareholders of that company’s religious views could be.”

And Chicken Little said the sky was falling, lady.

Get a grip on life. I never knew women were so helpless until Obama was elected POTUS.

How does anyone become a Senator without understanding the Constitution? How is this idiot unaware that Constitutional Rights, such as the RIGHT to practice our religious beliefs trumps any law or regulation that suppresses it, regardless of intent? Ignorance abounds…

dominigan on March 26, 2014 at 12:39 PM

Even the three lady justices were referring to the HHS mandate as a law “Congress passed”. Clement had to correct them on that. I am embarrassed by these women. We all should be.

Let’s cut the crap. Birth control is already plentiful, accessible and inexpensive. No cost at all for the user in some cases.

forest on March 26, 2014 at 12:09 PM

Under obamacare, a college party girl can go to the CVS or Walmart, or any pharmacy, and, if prescribed, receive birth control and abortifacients free. That is the law currently. You are paying for this nonsense through your premiums because the insurance companies are passing along the fees and levies collected to subsidize ‘party time’. My understanding is that a woman does not even have to show she’s enrolled to receive the freebies.

It’s actually more damning to the fascists than that….Hobby Lobby provides for 16 out of the 20 ‘contraceptive’ medications that are mandated by the federal government within their health insurance coverages.

Hobby Lobby is claiming a religious exemption on the 20% that represents abortifacients like the ‘morning after pill’.

When someone from the left whinges that Hobby Lobby is denying ‘birth control’ to its female employees, they are being fundamentally dishonest in their representation of the issue.

Of course, fundamentally dishonest is standard operating procedure for the fascists who seek to use the power of the government to put a boot to the throat of those who will not prostrate themselves before government.

I live in Washington. Patty Murray doesn’t just have little familiarity with the law, she has little familiarity with anything. Both of our senators are embarrassingly dim-witted. Every six years they lose every county but one – King County.

Just recall, this is the woman who said that Afghans like Osama bin Laden because he builds daycare centers for women.

Total dipwad and an embarrassment for the state of WA. If you people would get out and vote you might elect somebody with half a brain. And we are actually paying this stupid woman a ton of money!!!!!!!!!!!

What this really is about for libtards like Osama-Mama is Citizens United. They still think that corporations are not people. Therefore, the individual beliefs of those who run corporations should not be “imposed” on their employees. At least when those beliefs run counter to the Liberal narrative.